Medical Pot Deal in N.Y. Reached by Cuomo, Lawmakers Jun 19, 2014 4:53 PM ET Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders struck a deal that has New York poised to become the 23rd U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana. The accord reached today in Albany will set up a program for the cultivation and distribution of pot for diseases including cancer, Cuomo said at a press briefing in Albany. The bill is expected to be passed by lawmakers before the legislative session ends tonight. The measure doesn't allow the plant to be smoked; instead, the drug will be made available in food and as an oil that can be vaporized and inhaled. “Medical marijuana has the capacity to do a lot of good for a lot of people who are in pain and who are suffering,†Cuomo said. “It's a difficult issue because there are also risks that have to be averted -- public health risks, public safety risks -- and we believe this bill strikes the right balance.†Cuomo said in January that he would create a medical marijuana research program by reviving a 1980 law that allowed for distribution of marijuana through hospitals. That program was too narrow, according to lawmakers and activists. They backed a proposal requiring that plants be monitored from seed to sale by independent dispensaries and certified doctors who would prescribe the drug. As the annual legislative session drew to a close in recent days, Cuomo, a 56-year-old Democrat running for re-election in November, engaged lawmakers in negotiations over the differences. Two Decades Efforts by some lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana in the third most-populous state have been under way for almost two decades. Eighty-three percent of New York voters support legalizing pot for medical purposes, according to a May 23 poll by the Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The bill allows the governor to shut down the program at the recommendation of the state police superintendent or the health commissioner. It won't operate for at least 18 months. The plant form of marijuana will continue to be illegal, Joseph D'Amico, the police superintendent, said at the press briefing. “It doesn't allow the line of lawful and unlawful to be clouded,†he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Freeman Klopott in Albany at fklopott@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman atsmerelman@bloomberg.net Jeffrey Taylor, Pete Young
Yeah two questions: Who's allowed to grow it? Who's supplying the extract oil? This bill is a farce. No cultivation for citizens equals asinine profiteering for a select few. No access to raw material or the ability to grow is very dangerous to the common man. Sorry, new York. You lost big on this one.
I believe that if you consider percentage of population in the U.S., NY going medical would put us way over 50%. Counting strictly the number of states could be deceiving. There are some puzzling provisions in the law, but the one you did not question was the "no smoking" provision. How would they enforce that? What is the purpose of that provision? That to me seems to be the biggest "farce".
You can vape it or eat it.....who gives a fuck if you can't "legally" toke it? This is better than nothing, imo.....
Id buy grow lights and grow like hell...... like i do now. Where is all this cannabis to make medicine going to come from? HHHmmm some asshole like you or I..
IMO their intent is to reduce the citizens choice to "smoking" cannabis oil via a vaporizer or ingesting oil/concentrate, or upon further development extracts like sativex. That is a powerful way to keep people away from raw cannabis or the ability to cultivate. Among other injustices that robs local economy of millions in income and tax revenue.
Mass grown from Mexico or Canada. Or by a disproportionately dismal amount of private interest aligned growers.
I live in NY and didn't even know about this. It's not very good, but at least some seriously ill patients can get relief.
Can't be smoked? I know that was for political reasons, but god why are people so stupid? My guess is for one of two reasons: 1. Political. People always say that yea sure marijuana can be good but smoking anything is bad for your health. This provision defeats that argument. 2. They don't want people smoking on the streets and want to keep. Measure in place where they can still arrest people for smoking in public--even if they do have a medical card.
Totally pleased for the new yorkers, just deppressing watching American states legalizing for medical and recreational use when across the pond the government is like...... no Its time to stop grazing and follow our shepard once more!
Good news! States typically require recommendations from a physician licensed to practice in that state. Patients may seek a certification from their general practitioner that marijuana would be medically beneficial for patient's debilitating condition.
YES!! Finally my state is legalized hell yeah! Now I gotta find out how to get my medical marijuana card haha